Dome Co. Ltd.
Dome Co. Ltd. (株式会社童夢 in Japanese) is a Japanese automotive manufacturer, which specialises in developing race cars and equipment to race both domestically and internationally.'WHAT'S DOME', dome.co.jp, (Dome Co. Ltd., 2020), http://www.dome.co.jp/eng/profile_n/whatsdome.html, (Accessed 22/01/2020) Famed for developing the Dome Zero concept car, Dome would go on to race in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and national Japanese Championships, before developing FIA Formula 4 and Formula 3 chassis in the 2010s. In March 2019 Dome would partner with the new ERA Championship to develop a new electric racing series for junior drivers. Dome agreed to supply the series with a base F4 homolgated chassis, as well as develop a powertrain in partnership with Saroléa Performance Technology.'ERA CHAMPIONSHIP AND SAROLEA ANNOUNCE TECHNICAL PARTNERSHIP', erachampionship.com, (ERA Championship, 15/10/2019), https://erachampionship.com/uploads/media/ERACHAMP_SAROLEA-ANNOUNCE-PDF.pdf, (Accessed 22/01/2020) Background Dome Co. Ltd. would be established by Minoru Hayashi in 1975, the culmination of ten years of work by Hayashi to customise pre-existing race cars. Dome was spawned as a means of Hayashi developing his own race cars, with the added intention of developing technology that could be used on the road. In 1978 Dome released their first road going concept car, the Zero, although both that and its successor, the Zero P2, were denied type approval by the Japanese government. Sports and Single Seaters Having been denied the chance to become a road car manufacturer, Dome would focus on building their own race cars once again, initially building sports cars. This culminated in a maiden entry into the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1979. They subsequently moved into the F3000 series in the 1980s, before attempting to develop a Formula One project in the 1990s. Yet, Dome would ultimately stick with being a developer in the Japanese racing scene, entering the Japanese Touring Car Championship and later Super GT. In 2013 Dome would apply to become a constructor for the new FIA Formula 4 chassis, and duly developed their first F4 car, the F110, in time for the 2014 season. After a successful five years as an F4 constructor, Dome announced their intention to build a Formula 3 chassis for 2020. ERA Championship History Dome entered negotiations with The Driving Force, a Belgian racing organisation well known for running factory BMW and Porsche GT teams in early 2019. This culminated in an agreement between the two announced on 31 March 2019 to form the ERA Championship, with DF acting as the series organisers, while Dome were announced as the series' exclusive chassis constructor. The Japanese manufacturer would use their F110 F4 chassis to fulfil that requirement, albeit reworked to fit an electric powertrain in time for the series first public appearance in January 2020. Products Dome are set to exclusively supply the ERA Championship with base chassis, with an initial production of 24 chassis, the series' initial limit.Dieter Rencken, 'New Electric Racing Academy series launched at Zolder', racefans.net, (Collantine Media Ltd, 21/01/2020), https://www.racefans.net/2020/01/21/electric-racing-academy-series-launched-at-zolder/, (Accessed 22/01/2020) Dome would use their F110e chassis, re-branded as the Mitsu-Bachi F110e, with a base powertrain developed with Saroléa Performance Technology available to those entering the Sport class in 2020. Mitsu-Bachi F110e The Mitsu-Bachi F110e will serve as the base chassis for the inaugural ERA Championship, and had its public unveiling on 20 January 2020 at Circuit Park Zolder. The F110e is an FIA Formula 4 homolgated chassis, with an all-electric powertrain developed by Saroléa for those entering the Sport class, although entrants in the Innovation class will be permitted to develop their own powertrains. References Videos and Images: * References: Category:ERA Partners Category:ERA Constructors